A fresh push is coming for southern Kerala’s development map, with a new government-backed company soon to take charge of the Vizhinjam-Kollam-Punalur growth corridor project.
The initiative, anchored around the Vizhinjam international seaport, is being set up to attract fresh investments and upgrade regional infrastructure.
Finance Minister K N Balagopal has announced that a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) will be created as a public limited company, entirely owned by the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB). The goal is to streamline planning and execution of the corridor project, which aims to open up the industrial potential unlocked by Vizhinjam Port.
The new company is expected to play a key role in acquiring land, drawing private investors, and enabling businesses to operate in the designated region. Two proposed names are under consideration – KIFCOR Ltd and KIFDAC Ltd – with the final pick to depend on approval from the Registrar of Companies.
Handling the formation and registration of the new entity is KIIFCON, the consultancy arm of KIIFB.
The upcoming SPV is expected to follow models similar to industrial infrastructure corporations in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where dedicated entities have been used to coordinate large-scale industrial and logistics expansion.
Whether the Kerala version will mirror the success of those states remains to be seen, but officials are hopeful that a focused vehicle could ease bureaucratic hurdles and offer investors a smoother ride.
The proposed corridor won’t be just a line on the map. It will be stitched together through some key road and rail routes in south Kerala – including the Kollam-Shenkottai National Highway, the Vizhinjam-Kollam National Highway, and the Punalur-Nedumangad-Vizhinjam Road.
The Kollam-Shenkottai railway line will also be part of the network, offering a multimodal transport framework that could benefit goods movement and logistics.
While the project is still in its early stages, the finance minister has indicated that it could potentially draw investments worth over ₹30,000 crore. If things go as envisioned, thousands of jobs may also be created over time – although exact numbers and timelines are yet to be made clear.
The corridor idea is being pitched as more than just a transport plan. It’s also about improving connectivity to key economic zones, setting up logistics parks, and forming business clusters that could support small and medium enterprises. Whether this will trigger a broader shift in the local economy will depend heavily on execution and investor response.